Belonging

“The album Belonging ranks with the greatest quartet recordings in jazz,” wrote Keith Jarett biographer Ian Carr, “because everything about it is superlative: the compositions, the free-flowing interplay, the level of inspiration and the brilliantly focused improvising of all four musicians.”  Produced by Manfred Eicher in Oslo in April 1974, the record exudes the freshness of spontaneity. “It was the fastest album I’ve ever done,” Jan Garbarek would later say, referencing Keith Jarrett’s emphasis on first takes in the studio to capture, above all, the spirit of the pieces. The music of Belonging – three beautiful, yearning ballads (“Blossom”, “Belonging”, “Solstice”) and three rip-roaringly propulsive tunes (“Spiral Dance”, “Long As You Know You’re Living Yours”, “The Windup”) – was written to highlight the specific strengths of this team of players.  Its positive energy and sense of buoyancy are evocatively conveyed by the bright sky cover image of Tadayuki Naito.

Tracklisting:
Side A
1. Spiral Dance
2. Blossom
3. 'Long As You Know You're Living Yours

Side B
1. Belonging
2. The Windup
3. Solstice

Keith Jarrett - Piano
Jan Garbarek - Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone
Palle Danielsson - Double-Bass
Jon Christensen - Drums